To be fair to large groups, they can work for rotational play. So you'll (almost) never have all nine players in the room, more often it'll just be the four who turned up.

It's not how I like to play, but it's not for me to judge.

Me, I prefer the standard model where you presume that everybody will make the session, although I'm also getting interested in having multiple characters per player. Mostly in the troupe play model where everybody can wear different hats but the GM had the most, but also in other ways (such as Wraith's Shadowguide idea, or having the players all be gentry and a different character's primary servant).